You Just Have To Agree

"I... I..." Stammering under constant pressure, Dayang Haya felt cornered, wondering how on earth such a kid learned her secret. At that moment her mind started thinking, spanning numerous thoughts in a second.

"Don't tell me... Are you a mole planted here?! Which tribe?! Which group?!" Dayang Haya exclaimed but she found her mouth was muffled due to the palms of Miguel that is firmly holding her tight. She wanted to free herself but she felt weakened under the powerful arms of Miguel whose tightly clutching her hands and wrists.

But Miguel heard him just fine. Fueled by rage as he found himself sharing an emotion with Argus's memories, his veins erupted. He felt his vitality returning and a surge of energy boiled within him.

He is even sure that he probably won't need the Moringa Tea.

In a low but rough voice, Miguel sticks her breath close enough to the Dayang's ears, "Are you seriously asking which tribe?" He held the Dayang's hands clenching it tighter which made the Dayang issue a cry. "Arghh you..."

"Woman... you have burned my tribe into ashes. You have killed my whole tribe! How dare you ask which tribe I came from?" Seething and fuming in rage, Miguel could only put his face near the Dayang's cheeks. Almost as if he intends to bite her ear.

The Dayang whose been tightly gripped by Miguel, tried to reach out to her small knife. But Miguel is quick on the uptake as he easily noticed it and before she could even take it, he already slapped her hand making the knife fall to the ground.

"Listen... I could kill you right now if I wanted to. Proclaim to the people that the Dayang herself is an accomplice to the killer of Datu Hagat, your piece of scummy traitor husband! Or perhaps they might better like it if I say, you hired a group of raiders to kill your husband, just because you wanted someone else. All of this because you have hidden it from the tribe... And with these, you and your daughter could easily fall from people's grace... But!"

Exclaiming briefly. He even heaved a heavy sigh.

After pausing his sentence, Miguel slowly tapped the Dayang's shoulder. He then made her turn around slowly while still clutching her wrists.

"That is such a waste... The other one probably wants to exact revenge upon you, kill you and humiliate you as well as burn your live flesh into ashes. But I have a better vision, why not remove my status of being an Alipin? And promote me to a Timawa in this instance!"

Affected by Miguel's coercion, Dayang Haya's mind is in turmoil. The unpredictable sudden outburst of rage by Miguel caught him off guard. For a minute she could not answer, her mouth had repeatedly opened and closed before finally deciding to remove her veil and answer Miguel.

"Yes... you are right. I feel at a loss... I do not know what to do! I've been keeping it a secret to the Elders, to anyone, to Lia. I... I do not know! The moment I reveal it to them is the moment everyone will turn their sharp fangs against me. I can not trust anyone..." Dayang Haya broke out as some visible tears poured oy from the corners of her eyes along with the fall of her veil when she decided to speak.

Miguel on the other hand, facing the pitiful cry of Dayang Haya and now that the veil was removed could not help but overlap the image of her wife and the woman in front of him. A sense of prickling sympathy was etched at him, tugging his heart as if it's her wife complaining at him.

"Just kill me already! At least I won't have to worry about anything anymore. I won't have to appear strong and fake my greetings! Didn't my daughter likes you? Take care of her in my stead. Tell her I love her. If you kill me then I could repay the sin of my husband... In the end, you came here to settle scores... right?"

Dayang Haya with a sour nose looking aggrieved stared at Miguel's eyes. At that moment even the Dayang felt weird, "Why did I suddenly blurted all of those? This is strange... He is just a kid." She muttered to herself.

Miguel casts away his distracting thoughts of his wife as he faced the Dayang. This time, since he is now in control, he let go of her wrist but held the Dayang's shoulders instead.

"Hmph. Dying is an easy punishment for you. Accede to my request and we shall pretend that nothing like this has happened." Miguel gently said.

"I... I can do that. But I don't have a good reason for you to become a Timawa. And you are already an Apprentice."

When Miguel heard this, he smirked and even let out a chuckle. Seeing this expression on a kid. Dayang Haya felt like the Argus in front of him was possessed. "Can such a kid do an expression like this?"

"You will soon have enough of a reason to promote me into a Timawa! I say to you, this shall happen!"

"But... But..." The apprehensive Dayang issued a cry.

Now she felt truly pitiful. Her eldest son died during the fight with Khalip Tribe—Argus's fallen tribe. And his husband unknowingly died. Now, she's even being harassed by a kid.

Well, to be fair, Argus is already can be considered a young adult which in our world can be said a teen. But still... being pinned down like this made her feel humiliated.

"What should I do? Will you help me? Is that the way I can promote you to a Timawa?" The Dayang asked as she wiped her tears with her hands.

"Woman! don't make this complicated. You just have to agree." Miguel replied, his usually arrogant tone implied his dominance over Lia's mother. Even knitting his brows together.

"Fine... I shall do what you wish." The Dayang finally submitted.

And that moment, Miguel was not able to control himself further. In a blink of an eye, he found himself hugging the Dayang as he caressed her cascading hair which instantly made the Dayang startled.

Right after that, Miguel had quickly released her and the Dayang wore a dumbfounded expression as the culprit stared at her one last time before quietly leaving.

The Dayang slumped there staring blankly at the wooden pillars in front of her, unable to comprehend what had transpired. But after who knows how many hours of silence, she then muttered,

"What did I just do? I've let a kid harass and humiliate me just like that? I... I even cried in front of him! He even hugged me! He..." Holding her dizzying head, she felt weak all over her body.